A Congratulations and a May Recap

Woman Reading
by
Louai Kayyali

Well as everyone I am sure knows by now, American author Madeline Miller has won the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction with her debut novel The Song of Achilles. Congratulations to her.

Although happy for Ms. Miller, I am disappointed that State of Wonder by Ann Patchett did not win. That book I have read and found it engaging. I read it in two gulps.

This is a short reading wrap-up for May:

Books read: A paltry 4
Books bought: 0 (could that be right?)
Still reading: Amenities of Book-Collecting by A. Edward Newton
Authors met: 0

Mr. Newton has enlightened me with essays on Mrs. Thrale, a good friend and benefactor of Dr. Samuel Johnson; Mr. William Godwin, the ridiculous philosopher (as Newton calls him) whose one claim to fame, besides being a rather contentious and unlikeable fellow, is being the father of Mary Wollstonecraft and father-in-law of Shelley; the origins and life of Temple Bar, the gateway into London; Mr. Trollope; and, James Boswell and his book about Dr. Johnson.

I have a new stack of book review magazines from The Professor across the street. And I have still not unpacked the bags of books bought on The Grand Southern Literary Tour.

Will I ever catch up?